Pile wire



w. A. RICE April 6, 1954 PILE WIRE 2 Sheets-Sheet l -Filed Aug. 30, 1952fig',

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w. A. RICE PILE WIRE April e, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1952ffy/0.

ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 6, 1954 PILE WIRE Walter A. Rice, Amsterdam, N.Y., assignor to Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc., Amsterdam, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application August 30, 1952, Serial No. 307,301

8 Claims. (Cl. 139-44) This invention relates to the weaving of pilefabric oor coverings of the type having high and low loops in the pileon looms equipped with pile wires each having both high and lowloopforming portions. More particularly, the invention is concerned witha novel pile wire for use with others in a set in a loom to produce afabric of the kind referred to. A loom, in which the new wires areemployed, may be operated to produce a novel fabric, in which eachtransverse row of pile loops is complete and without voids and includesboth high and low loops and at least some of the pile warp yarns formboth high and low loops in different transverse rows, the portions of ayarn forming such high and low loops having the same number of turns oftwist per unit length. The invention, accordingly, includes both the newwires and the new fabric made by their use.

At the present time, pile fabric oor coverings are frequently Woven witha pile made up of high and low loops of pile warp yarns, the loops beingarranged in transverse rows. In some such fabrics, each row of loopscontains no voids and only a single frame or set of pile warp yarns isemployed, so that each yarn is raised out of the backing of the fabricto form a loop in each row. In order to produce such a fabric on a pilewire loom, it has been usual to employ a set of pile wires having highand low loop-forming portions, so that the top of each wire has asomewhat wavy appearance. The wires in a set may then be of two kindsdiffering from each other, in that, in the set, high portions of onewire lie opposite low portions of the adjacent wires on either side.

When a set of the wires described is employed in the weaving of a fabriccontaining av single frame of pile warp yarns, each of which is raisedover every wire in the weaving operation, the yarns raised over the lowportions of a wire initially form low loops, but, when the Wire isremoved, the height of such low loops is increased to the height of thehigh portions of the wire. The length of yarn required to increase theheight of such a low loop is drawn from a high loop of the same yarn inthe next preceding row, from which the wire has previously beenwithdrawn. The final fabric thus has transverse rows containing bothhigh and low loops, and the high loops are loops, which were raised overlow portions of a wire and converted into high loops upon withdrawal ofthat wire, while the low loops are loops, which were raised over highportions of a wire and converted into low loops upon withdrawal of thefollowing wire.

In a fabric woven in the manner and by the use of the wires abovedescribed, the portions of a pile warp yarn forming high loops have lessturns of twist per unit length than the portions of such a yarn forminglow loops. The reason for this is that, as a low loop raised over a lowloop-forming portion of a wire is converted into a high loop uponwithdrawal of the wire and the additional length of yarn required forthe conversion is drawn from a high loop in the preceding row, theadditional length is pulled beneath a holding weft and the twist is heldback and remains in the loop in the preceding row, from which the lengthwas withdrawn. As a result, the length of yarn forming the new high loophas less turns of twist per unit length than the original yarn. In thesame Way, when a high loop raised over a high loop-forming portion of aWire is converted into a 10W loop upon Withdrawal of that wire and thefollowing wire, the twist held back increases the number of turns oftwist per unit length in the length of yarn forming the new loW loop.Accordingly, in such a fabric, the low loops are formed of more tightlytwisted lengths of yarn than the high loops and are likely to bedistorted, while the high loops are likely to be uniform in arrangementbut with the yarn therein somewhat soft and bulky.

The prior fabric and the method of making it, above described, are opento a number of objections. Thus, the pile is not uniform in appearancebecause of the diierence between the high and low loops in twist,arrangement, etc., and the high loops, which stand out above the lowloops and are more exposed to wear, are formed of lengths of relativelysoft yarn, which are more likely to be damaged by scuing than yarns ofhigher twist. Also, the withdrawal from the fabric of wires with highand low loop-forming portions with coincident pulling of pile warp yarnsthrough the fabric requires more power than the withdrawal of wires ofuniform height, and, in the pulling of the pile warp yarns through thefabric to vary the height of loops, there is more frequent breakage ofsuch yarns than in the operation of looms equipped with uniform heightwires.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a novel pile wirehaving high and low loop-forming portions, which can be used with othersin a set in a loom to produce a novel fabric having transverse rows madeup of high and low loops and with the lengths of a yarn forming both thehigh and the low loops containing the same number of turns of twist perunit length. The pile of the new fabric is thus uniform in appearance,since the high and low loops are both regular in arrangement and theyarns therein are alike in bulk. Also, the high and low loops are alikein wearing qualities, since the yarns in high loops are no longer softerand more loosely twisted than the yarns in the low loops.

The pile wire of the invention has a top with at least one high spot andis, preferably, formed with a number of high spots spaced along thewire. In prior similar wires, the high spots were formed as integralparts of the blade of the wire, but each high spot in the new wire ismade of an element mounted on the blade of the wire for movement from anormal position, in which it projects above the blade, to al depressedposition, in which it lies within the outline or boundaries of theblade. The elements are resiliently held in their normal position andmay conveniently be formed of lengths of springy wire bent toappropriate shape and anchored at one end on the blade of the pile wire,the other end being free. Such an element, although made of resilientwire, may have sufficient stiffness to hold up pile warp yarns raisedthereover and form the yarns into high loops. However, when the new pilewire is withdrawn from the loops raised over it, the movable elements onthe pile wire are forced within the boundaries of the wire by the loopsand the loops are thus left in their original form and no yarn is pulledfrom loops in a preceding row. The length of yarn in each loop then hasthe original number of turns of twist per unit length and the fabric hasa pile of uniform appearance and wearing qualities.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made tothe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevationof one form of the new pile wire;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 of another forrn of the new pilewire;

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged scaleof a portion of a wire, such as those shown in Figures l and 2;

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views on the lines 4 4, 55, and 66,respectively, of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a view in perspective showing the head of the new wire;

Figure 8 is avertical longitudinal sectional view of one form of the newfabric in the course of its production by means of the new wires;

Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the fabric of Figure 8 beingwoven; and

Figure 10 is a sectional view of the line lll-I0 of Figure 8, showingone of the new wires being withdrawn from the fabric.

The new pile wire 20, in the form shown in Figure 1, comprises a head 2lof conventional construction with a slot along one side, and a blade 22having one end inserted in the slot and held in place in any appropriatemanner, as by brazing. The blade 22 is a strip of flat wire of theheight of the low loops to be made in the fabric and it has a slot 22aextending inward from its top and running substantially from end to end.At the free end 221) of the blade, the slot is closed.

The pile wire is provided with a plurality of movable elements 23 actingas high loop-forming portions and the wire illustrated, which isintended lfor use in the weaving of a fabric 27 inches wide, has iiveelements 23. The portion of each element exposed above blade 22 is about3 inches long and the exposed portions of adjacent elements areseparated by about 3 inches. Each element 23 is made of a length ofspringy wire, one end 23a of which is bent back upon itself to form ahook, lying within slot 22a and anchored in place in any convenientmanner. For this purpose, small opposed spots in the walls of slot 22amay be forced toward each other into contact, as indicated at 24, toform a stud lying within hook 23a. The intermediate portion of wire 23is bent to upwardly convex form and projects upwardly out of the slot22a. The free end of wire 23 enters the slot and lies beneath anotherstud 25 formed by forcing spots on the Walls of slot 22a toward eachother and into contact. The height, to which the intermediate portion ofwire 23 extends above the top of the blade 2| of the pile wire 20,depends on the height desired for the high loops in the fabric. Forexample, the height of the blade 22 of the pile wire 20 may be .246inch, and the greatest projection of wire 23 above the blade 22 may alsobe .246 inch.

The wire 26', shown in Fig. 2, is similar to wire 2li and comprises aconventional head 2|' and a blade 22 like blade 22. A plurality of Wires23 'ke wires 3 are mounted on the blade 22', as described in connectionwith wire 23. Pile wires of the forms typified by wires 20 and 20 areintended to be used in alternation to make up a set of pile wires to beemployed in a loom with the high spots on one wire lying opposite thelow spots on the adjacent wires. Accordingly, the wires 23' on pile wire2Q are staggered in relation to wires 23 on pile wire 2, and pile wire20 has only four wires 23.

A fabric produced on a loom equipped with the new pile wires may haveany conventional backing, such as that of the fabric shown in Figs. 8and 9. This backing comprises stuffer warp threads 26 lying betweenwefts 27, 28 in upper and lower series, respectively, the wefts beingbound in relation to the stufer warp threads by binder warp threads 29,30 in two sets. The

binder warp threads lie in pairs across the fabric,

with each pair including a thread of each set, and the pairs of binderwarp threads are separated by groups of stuffer warp threads, each groupin the fabric illustrated including four such threads. The fabric alsocomprises a pile formed by pile warp yarns 3 I, which are bound beneaththe holding wefts 21 in the upper series and raised between adjacentholding wefts.

In the weaving of the fabric illustrated by the use of the new wires,the warp threads and yarns are manipulated in the usual way to formsheds, in certain of which pile Wires are inserted. 'I'he pile Warpyarns lie in the upper line in each such shed and, as the yarns arebrought back into the body of the fabric, they form loops over theeffective portions of the pile wires. The height of the loops in atransverse row over a single pile wire varies with the contour of thetop of that'wire. That contour is formed partly by the wires 23 or 23and partly by the blade 22 or 22 of the pile wire. When the pile warpyarns are raised over wires 23, 23 and then returned to the body of thefabric, the tension on the pile warp yarns is insu-flicient to collapsethe wires 23, 23'. Accordingly, each transverse row of pile loopsincludes low loops raised over the blade of a pile wire and other loopsof successively greater height up to loops of maximum height, which lieover'the middle of the exposed portion of each Wire 23, 23.

When the weaving has proceeded until all the pile wires of the set havebeen inserted into the fabric, the first wire inserted is pulled out ofthe row of pile loops thereover and inserted into a new shed. ln thewithdrawal of a pile wire, for example, wire 29 (Fig. l0) the engagementof wires 23 with the pile loops 32, 33, etc., of diminishing height downto loops 34 of minimum height causes each wire 23 to be flattened outand to assume the shape of wire 35 (Fig. l0). As wire 35 is thus forceddown by the pile loops into the slot in the blade of the pile wire, thefree end of wire 35 moves beneath the stud 25 within the slot. As thewire 35 passes from beneath a series of pile loops 34 of minimum heightand into a group of higher loops, wire 35 tends to resume its originalshape, but it is again depressed into the slot in the blade cf the pilewire, as it moves out from beneath a group of loops of diminishingheight and to a place beneath loops of minimum height. The withdrawal ofa pile wire thus leaves behind a row of pile loops, made up of the highand low loops originally raised over the pile wire, and none of theloops has been altered in height during the withdrawal of the pile wire.

As previously explained, a fabric having high and low pile loops in atransverse row and woven of a single set of pile warp yarns on a loomequipped with conventional wires having high and low loop-formingportions, is characterized by high loops diiering in appearance from,and having less turns of twist per unit length, than the low loops. Sucha fabric is objectionable, not only because of the nonuniformity inappearance of the two different kinds of loops in the pile, but alsobecause the high loops, which are most subject to wear, are made ofportions of yarns of lower twist. The fabric of the invention includestransverse rows of loops including both high, low, and intermediateloops, and the pile is uniform in appearance and in wearing qualities,because there is no diierence between high and low loops arising fromdifferences in the number of turns of twist per unit length in theportions of the yarn forming them. The length of yarn in each loopretains the initial twist in the yarn forming that loop and, since thefabric is made in a weaving operation, of the height of pile loopsduring the withdrawal of pile wires, the fabric can be produced withless expenditure of power for the operation of the loom and with fewerpile yarn breaks.

In the appended claims, the term effective portions is used to dene thatportion of the pile wire over which the pile warp yarns are passedduring the weaving of the fabric.

I claim:

1. A pile wire for use in a pile wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade, a head attached to the blade, and at least one element carried bythe effective portion of the blade and projecting above the blade forforming loops of a height greater than the height of the blade, thenormal contour of the top of the effective portion of the wire beingdetermined by the top edge of the element and the top edge of the bladeon opposide sides of the element, the element being movable relative tothe blade to a position, in which the top of the element lies flush withthe top of the blade.

2. A pile wire for use in a pile Wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade, a head attached to the blade. and at least one element carried bythe in which there is no modification effective portion of the blade andprojecting above the blade for forming loops of a height' greater thanthe height of the blade, the normal contour of the top of the effectiveportion of the wire being determined by the top edge of the element andthe top edge of the blade on opposite sides of the element, the elementbeing de# pressible to lower its top to lie flush with the top of theblade.

3. A pile wire for use in a pile wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade having a cavity adjacent its upper edge, a head attached to theblade, and at least one element mounted on the eiective portion of theblade within the cavity and projecting out of the cavity for formingloops of a. height greater than the height of the blade, the normalcontour of the top of the eiective portion of the wire being determinedby the top edge of the element and the top edge of the blade on oppositesides of the element, the element being movable wholly into the cavity.

4. A pile wire for use in a pile wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade having a longitudinal slot leading inward from its top edge at aneffective portion of the blade, a head attached to the blade, and atleast one element mounted within the slot at an effective portion of theblade and projecting out of the slot for forming loops of a heightgreater than the height of the blade, the normal contour of the top ofthe effective portion of the wire being determined by the top edge ofthe element and the top edge of the blade on opposite sides of theelement, the element being movable wholly into the cavity.

5. A pile wire for use in a pile wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade, a head attached to the blade, and a plurality of elements carriedin spaced relation by the blade at an effective portion thereof andprojecting above the blade for forming loops of a height greater thanthe height of the blade, the normal contour of the top of the effectiveportion of the wire being determined by the top edges of the elementsand the top edge of the blade between and beyond the elements, theelements being movable relative to the blade to positions, in which thetops of the elements lie Iiush with the topl of the blade.

`6. A pile wire for use in a pile wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade, a head attached to the blade, and at least one element ofresilient material carried by the blade and anchored to the blade at onepoint with the element projecting above the blade, the normal contour ofthe top of the effective portion of the wire being determined by the topedge of the element and the top edge of the blade on opposite sides ofthe element, the element being capable of being flexed to a position, inwhich its top lies ush with the top of the blade.

'7. A pile wire for use in a pile wire carpet loom, which comprises ablade having a longitudinal slot leading inward from its top edge at aneffective portion of the blade, a head attached to the blade, and a wireelement having one end anchored in the slot and the other end enteringthe slot, the portion of the element between its ends extending out ofthe slot at an effective portion of the blade for forming loops of aheight greater than the height of the blade, the normal contour of thetop of the effective portion of the wire being determined by the elementand the top edge of the blade on opposite sides of the element, theelement being capable of being depressed into the slot.

8. In a pile wire carpet loom having means for References Cited in thele of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date FondaJune 28, 1938 Shuttlev/orth June 27, 1939 Jackson July 25, 1950 GroatMar. 27, 1951 Hamilton June 10, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date GreatBritain July 6, 1927

